DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 31, 2016 — Rick Santorum, the 2012 Iowa caucus winner, may be languishing in the polls, but he remains undaunted. While most of the GOP presidential candidates were hunkered down on Thursday doing debate preparation, the former Pennsylvania senator was still working the state hard.

Santorum became a household name in Iowa in 2012 when he visited all 99 counties. He wowed social conservatives and still does with his unwavering conservative stances on social issues.

In 2016, he is reminding Iowa voters that he is a man who has delivered results across the board. At a Pizza Ranch in Des Moines, Santorum held a town hall that reintroduced him to caucus-goers.

He is not just about social issues. He has led the fight on economic and foreign policy issues as well. He does not want to just fight, but “fight and win.”

When Santorum was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990, Washington was drowning in self-dealing and corruption. He helped expose House bank and House post office corruption in 1994. “We brought down the 40-year reign of House Democrats.” He created health savings accounts and got them signed into law.

Others at the top of the polls simply do not share the breadth of his experience or accomplishments.

“Anyone can stop things in the United States Senate. The hard part is getting things done.”

Like many Iowans, the Pennsylvania-raised Santorum appreciates football. “Iowa State, with all due respect you’ve got a lousy football team.” Is the solution to blow it up? No. As Santorum observed, you don’t make a nuclear physicist the football coach.

When a beloved toy is not working, do you beat it with a hammer? No. You fix it. For politicians, that toy is America. To shake up Washington, “You hire someone who knows what to do.”

On foreign policy Santorum notes, “We called out the Nazis by name. President Obama refuses to say ‘radical Islam.'”

The Muslim caliphate is not just something Islamists hope for. It is not restricted to the future; it is a product of the past. The “Muslim caliphate [existed] when Muhammad was alive.”

The current caliphate has existed since 1924 and is about submission to the will of Islam. “’Islam’ means submission. The purpose of the caliphate is to get everyone to submit to Islam.”

Muslims worldwide are looking to see if ISIS is the real deal, and if this caliphate is legitimate. One way to do that, Santorum says is “territorial integrity,” which is key to ISIS success. President Obama, the senator notes, talks of containing ISIS. “Containing ISIS is perfect in ISIS’s mind. It creates legitimacy.”

Santorum was asked what it would take to get people, especially young people, to understand that radical Islam matters and climate change does not. Santorum said that the main problem was that we have not adequately told the story of radical Islam.

If a child is building a bomb in the garage, when does the dad intervene? Willful blindness is not an option. The dad must say something. It is a criminal conspiracy if he doesn’t. This is a simple concept to understand, but the current administration does not follow the same logic. Iran is the world’s biggest threat. Obama is arming them.

Santorum made crystal-clear what he would do. Iran will stop its bad behavior, or on day one, “We will take them out.” He said he was “serious as a heart attack.”

Turning to domestic issues, Santorum believes we must investigate the IRS and all illegal activities. The Affordable Care Act he terms “a disaster.” Charging people who use the healthcare system more is not discrimination.

This is why women sometimes had higher premiums than men, depending on the services they used.

A huge hole in AHC is that younger people are dropping health insurance because they know they can pick it up when they need it and then drop it again. The end of the pre-existing conditions clause means that insurance companies do not collect money every month, but instead only for those months it is used.

Unfortunately, the amount being collected is not equal to the amount being paid out.

On marriage, Donald Trump says the United States Supreme Court rules. Ted Cruz cites the 10th Amendment. Santorum cites Abraham Lincoln: “You cannot have the right to do what is wrong.”

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Unjust laws conflict with God’s law.” Santorum passionately defended his stance. “Water is not H3O. Marriage is not what you want it to be. It is what it is.”

Santorum said that out of all the candidates, on social issues only he and Mike Huckabee have been consistent.

Ethanol is a major issue in Iowa. Santorum has always been pro-ethanol. He is worried about national security and wants as much energy as possible produced here in America.

On illegal immigration, Santorum claimed an A-rating on the issue from border groups and said that no other candidate can. Santorum said the focus is wrong. We are told to focus on those who come illegally. The late Barbara Jordan, as liberal a Democrat as they come,said, “policy should be in the best interest of the public.”

Santorum has a “record you can count on.” He cited a comment by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley that was not meant as a compliment but is now being accepted as one.

“I’ve known Santorum 20 years and he hasn’t changed a bit.”

Santorum implored the crowd to put principles above polls. People know where he stands. Agree or disagree with him, he can be trusted.

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Brooklyn born, Long Island raised and now living in Los Angeles, Eric Golub is a politically conservative columnist, blogger, author, public speaker, satirist and comedian. Read more from Eric at his TYGRRRR EXPRESS blog. Eric is the author of the book trilogy “Ideological Bigotry, “Ideological Violence,” and “Ideological Idiocy.”